A Forgotten Past
by avrovulcan
Summary: Illya and Rebecca discover something long forgotten at Rebecca's family home in England. Originally written for the Short Affair Challenge on LJ. Part of my Illya and Rebecca series.
1. Chapter 1

It was a Sunday and a beautiful summers day, the shade thrown by the enormous old oak was just perfect, Illya and Becca sat with their backs against the trunk, enjoying a rare moment together.

They looked out across the meadow, containing swathes of **pale orange**, yellow and white flowers, at Brockenhurst Park, Rebecca's family home in the New Forest, England.

"I love it under this tree, I always feel close to Dad when I'm here, it was our favourite spot," Becca sighed as she rested her head on Illya's shoulder.

"I agree, it is very peaceful. listening to the birds and watching the horses graze is very relaxing."

"Unfortunately, I think it's time to go back, it won't be long before dinner."

"I believe it is roast pork today, complete with all the trimmings," Illya said with a smile.

The pair rose from their comfortable place and, hand in hand, made their way back to the large old house, which was the focal point of the whole **estate**.

"That is strange," Illya said as he looked at the building.

"What is?"

"That window up there on the right."

Rebecca studied it, but couldn't see anything wrong, it looked just as it always had.

"What makes you think there's something wrong with it?"

"I do not remember seeing a room in that area."

"It _is_ a big house and easy to get confused about the rooms, but knowing what your memory is like, I believe we may have a mystery."

"Hmm, a mystery, I like the sound of that. Maybe start the investigation after dinner?" Illya suggested.

"I'll ask Gramps if he knows anything about any secret rooms. He knows a lot about the history of the house."

"That will be a good place to start."

They reached the house and freshened up in their room before joining Becca's grandparents and her Mother in the kitchen.

The family preferred to eat in there, rather than in the huge dining room; which only tended to be used for large family gatherings as it was so big.

The farmhouse table was laid out with a selection of fresh vegetables, stuffing balls, yorkshire puddings, homemade apple sauce and a large plateful of perfectly cooked pork, complete with crispy crackling on the side.

"Help yourselves to what you want." Gramps said, as the two UNCLE agents approached the table.

"Yes, yes; tuck in, there's plenty." Grams added, as she placed a steaming jug of gravy on the table.

"It looks delicious." Illya commented as he started to help himself to the food.

As the family sat and ate, conversation flowed easily, talking about everything from the lovely weather they had been enjoying to which paddock the horses should be moved to next.

"Gramps, are there any secret rooms that you know of?" Becca asked.

"Oh, now let me think. Hmm, yes there is an old priest hole under the main staircase, and another near the fireplace in the main lounge. Do you mean those?"

"No, you showed me them when I was little."

"Ah, yes, I remember it used to drive your brother mad when you played hide and seek together!"

"There are the cellars," Emily, Becca's mother, suggested.

"No, they're not really secret, just not explored much, it's very creepy down there." Becca shivered, she'd seen enough places like that, courtesy of THRUSH, that she didn't need to spend time exploring one, " I mean a room upstairs," she finished.

"I don't know of one," Gramps said, "why do you ask?"

"I noticed a window to a room I have not seen on the North side of the house," Illya explained.

"There are a lot of rooms, some not used very often, but as far as I know there aren't any lost or forgotten rooms. Shall we have a look after we've eaten?" Grams suggested.

Everyone agreed that would be a good idea and as soon as the table was cleared and the dishes put away, they went to investigate the mystery room in the North wing.


	2. Chapter 2

Illya and Rebecca led the way up the ornate staircase and onto the north wing landing, ready and eager to solve the riddle of the mystery room.

"The room should be at the end of this passage on the right," Illya said.

"The Blue Room is the last one, well, it has been for as long as I can remember anyway," Gramps commented.

They passed the first three rooms and came to the final door. The party of five all looked at each other as Grams's hand rested on the door handle.

A sense of anticipation hung in the air; as though when they entered the room, it wouldn't be the one they knew, but a completely different and new space.

"Well, let's find out shall we," Emily, Becca's Mother, replied.

The door opened on silent hinges and they all stepped into the brightly lit room. The walls were papered with a delicate flowered pattern. Velvet drapes hung floor to ceiling at the two large windows. A throw adorned with embroidered roses covered the four poster bed and a cream and blue rug lay on the wooden floorboards. The All the furnishings were of shades of blue, giving the room it's common name.

"I suppose it wouldn't take a **genius** to know a room that's always been there isn't suddenly going to change into an unknown one." Rebecca sighed, as she slowly walked around.

Illya looked out the windows, to the neat garden below and towards the meadow beyond, where only hours before he'd been sat with Becca under the huge old oak tree.

Leaning carefully out he looked to his left, trying to see if he could see the window he'd noticed earlier, he could just about see the recess where it would be.

"There is definitely another room after this one," he commented as he came back into the room.

The Russian examined the end wall, trying to find any clue to the whereabouts of an entrance. He slid his hands over the surface, the sensitive tips of his fingers registering any slight differences, but there was nothing to suggest a doorway.

"What about the room across the way, could there be a way in from there?" Gramps suggested.

The Chinese room was furnished in the same way as the previous one, but with an oriental theme of pale pink cherry blossoms and chinese dragons with their scales edged in **silver**. It was identical in shape and size to the previous bedroom and as Illya looked out the window to his right he could again see a window recess.

"It seems we have either two new rooms or one that runs the entire width of this wing."

"The mystery deepens," Grams said with wonder.

"Well I never, I thought I knew all about this house," Gramps exclaimed.

Becca went back into the hallway and examined, what was thought to have been, the end wall between both rooms. It was set back about two feet from the door surrounds and was perfectly smooth. She tapped it in several places, listening carefully for any sound differences but couldn't identify any.

In curiosity she walked to the opposite end of the hallway to the south wing and tapped on the wall there, the sound made was entirely different to the other end.

"Illya, I think I've found something, come and see," she called as she trotted down the hallway.

Kuryakin left the bedroom he was exploring and followed her to the south wall.

"What have you found?"

"Tap this wall, it sounds different to the other one. I think the northern end might be false."

After examining the sounds made by both, everyone agreed that it appeared an unknown doorway could be hidden between the Blue and Chinese rooms.

"I think the only way to find out is to knock down that wall," Gramps said, "I'll go and get the heavy hammer."

Within minutes The elderly man returned carrying a large lump hammer.

"If you'll do the honours Illya; it is, after all, your discovery," Gramps suggested.

Kuryakin took the proffered hammer and with a smile made the first hole, when it was big enough to see through, a torch was fetched and everyone peered in to see there was indeed a door behind the brick wall.

After a good half hour the barrier was down and an old white painted door stood before them, is was yellowed from age and streaked with dirt from who knew how many decades of being bricked up.

The group stood by the new portal and looked at each other, they were all eager to see what lay behind, but were also a little nervous at what they might find...


	3. Chapter 3

Becca laid her hand on the door handle and after a steadying breath, pushed the handle down, nothing happened. Thinking it may be stiff from years of unuse she pushed harder, but still came up against resistance.

"I think it must be locked," Rebecca said disappointedly.

"I could break down the door, but it would be a shame to damage it unnecessarily if we can help it," Illya added.

"I think I may be able to help," Gramps said, "there are some old keys in the study; I've never known what they were for, but kept them anyway, maybe one of those will unlock it."

Becca's Grandfather hurried away and returned moments later with three large old keys. He tried the first one but it didn't fit.

The second slid into the keyhole, it moved slightly and after a bit of brute force, rotated completely, the lock giving a loud satisfying click. Gramps pushed the handle down; finally, they would see what had been hidden for so long.

The door opened with a groan, the hinges stiff and protesting after years of inactivity. Inside it was gloomy, small shafts of sunlight broke through the darkness showing up dust motes drifting in the air.

The rays came through gaps in the closed wooden shutters, dark shadows sulked around the room, everyone half expecting to see pairs of shining eyes peering out of the darkness.

"Lets open the window so we can see," Emily suggested as she picked her way across the room.

Again, hinges protested from being awoken from their slumber, but bright daylight flooded the room and the shadows formed into physical objects.

"Why it's a child's room!" Grams exclaimed.

The room was filled with toys and games, the two largest shadows revealing themselves to be an old rocking horse and a very large dolls house. Smaller items were neatly placed along the walls or on shelves. Stuffed teddy bears lay on the bed and a selection of porcelain headed dolls sat on a chest of drawers. It all had a very **solemn** feeling to it.

"It all looks victorian, could it really have been lost for so long?" Rebecca replied in wonder.

"I wonder why it has been left like this." Grams said, sadness in her voice.

"This rocking horse would have been very expensive, the child was obviously much loved," Illya chipped in as he ran his hand along the dusty neck of the wooden animal.

"Look at this dolls house," Emily said, "I do believe it is a replica of this house, what do you think Dad?"

"It certainly looks like it, a few of the rooms are slightly different, but overall it does look like Brockenhurst Park."

Becca opened a free standing oak wardrobe in one corner of the room, it was still full of dresses and coats, she very carefully pulled out a **red** velvet dress, in it's time it would have been very beautiful, but the years had not been too kind. She replaced it and pulled out a bottle green two piece, it looked to be a riding habit, with a long skirt and short tailored jacket.

Suddenly she caught something out the side of her eye and gave an involuntary scream.

"What is it Becca?" Illya enquired as he quickly went to her side.

"I think I saw a ghost," she pointed to the rocking horse,"over there."

"I do not see anything, are you sure it was not a shadow?"

"No, I didn't think I believed in ghosts, but I definitely saw this one."

"What did it look like?" Grams aked.

"It was a little girl, probably about seven or eight years old."

She walked over to the rocking horse, the dark varnish peeling from it and leaving a patchy appearance, she push it a bit and it started to rock, creaking a little as it moved.

"She was standing just here and pretending to feed it, then she seemed to know I was here, turned around and smiled at me before disappearing."

A tremor went through Becca and Illya put his arms around her.

"I did see her Illya, and she definitely looked straight at me."

"I believe you. I can, how do you say, feel shivers down my spine? It feels very sad in here."

Gramps had wandered to a door in the wall opposite the window. "Seems we do have another room."

He placed one of the other two keys in the lock, which also needed some force before it clicked and opened the door.

Inside was a smaller room, it also had the wooden shutters closed; but with the light coming from behind them, they could see it had been turned into some sort of shrine. Framed photos, jars with candle wax in the bottom and long dead flowers in vases had been placed around the room.

It was full of pictures of a little girl growing up, the last ones of her being of about seven years old. In a lot of them she was riding a pony; a dark coloured one when she was younger, and finally on a dappled grey in the later ones.

In some of them, holding the bridle of the pony, stood a bearded man with similar features to the little girl and more than a little resemblance to Gramps. It could only be the child's father and he always gazed at her with intense love in his eyes.

"Do you know who he could be Dad?" Emily asked as she picked up one of the photos.

"I would have to look through the family records, but I think I can find out. But at a guess, going by the period in time, I think he might be my great or great, great grandfather,"

"Can we find out who they are Gramps? I really want to find out what happened to this little girl."

"I too, would like to know. It seems something very sad must have happened for all this to have been locked away and eventually forgotten. Illya added.

All in a sombre mood, they closed the doors and made their way downstairs to find out what they could within the Andrews family records.

Just before Rebecca closed the door, she had a last look around the childs room and there by the rocking horse was the apparition of the little girl from the photos, her blonde ringlets falling neatly around her face and wearing the red velvet dress Becca had seen in the wardrobe earlier.

"We will find out about you and you won't be forgotten any more, I promise."

The child smiled in reply then vanished.


	4. Chapter 4

Becca, Illya, Emily, Gramps and Grams descended the sweeping staircase and made their way to the study.

An ancient oak desk took pride of place in the room, two of the white painted walls were lined with bookshelves, the third had a huge picture window looking out onto the estate and the fourth had various Old Masters paintings hanging on it.

Becca perched on the edge of the desk, looking out the window.

"Where do we start?" She sighed.

"I have a lot of the family's birth certificates, I'll have a look through those." Gramps said.

"How about the big family bible, that must go back to then, there are names and dates written in there." Emily suggested.

"Why would someone write in there? Surely it is not something that should be done," Illya asked, puzzled.

"It's a special version of the bible and is meant to be a family record. It has space in there for family history," Becca explained. "We'll go and get it, c'mon Illya, it's in the attic."

The two agents left the room in search of the book. Gramps sat at the desk, papers spread upon it. He had his glasses on and was studying one of them intently.

"It's been a long while since I looked through these, some I don't even remember."

"We don't have much cause to need them, but they should be helpful," Grams replied as she pick one up, squinting in an effort to read the handwritten document.

Becca and Illya were searching through the attic, it was dusty and they were forever brushing away cobwebs. The space was like an Aladdin's cave; old furniture, travel chests, paintings, and other odds and ends stored from a bygone era. It was a creepy place to look, made all the more so by the inadequate light provided by the one small bulb hanging from the rafters.

"What are we looking for Becca?"

"It's been a while since I've seen it. I think it's in a wooden box about this big," she demonstrated the dimensions with her hands, "it's quite heavy too, I remember that."

They searched for several minutes, their hands getting grimy and dry from the dust covering everything.

"Over here, I think I have found something." Illya called as he picked up a box and placed it on a flat surface.

Becca came over and opened the lid, inside was dark green fabric and nestled securely within was a huge leather bound book, the cover had intricate embossed designs depicting scenes from the story of Noah's Ark. It was a family heirloom, handed down through the generations.

"It is beautiful, I have never seen anything like it," Illya commented as he traced the design with his fingers.

"Wait till you see inside it."

She opened the book and revealed the index, all ornately scripted in gold with bright coloured images around the edges.

"It is a work of art and I can see why your family treasures it so. Let us get it downstairs."

They carefully wrapped the fabric back over the book, replaced the lid and took it down to the study.

Gramps had created three groups of certificates by the time Becca and Illya had returned. One was of marriages, one of deaths and the last of births.

"I've put these birth ones in order, they go back to 1842 which is for my Grandfather Ernest Frederick Andrews," the old man revealed.

"I think the little girl is before then my dear," Grams replied.

"I'm afraid, we might have to look in the parish church records if we need to go back further."

"No I don't think we'll need to Gramps, look the dates go back before then in here."

"Yes, it says in 1819 a Reuben Theodore Andrews was born. It also says he was the son of Amos," Illya added.

With the help of all the certificates and the detailed information in the Family Bible, they drew up a family tree within a couple of hours. They discovered Amos was Gramps' Great, Great, Great Grandfather.

"This is the most likely name of our mystery girl, Sophie Eleanor, born in 1831," Emily said.

"So the man in the photos could be her father, Amos Andrews, and her brother was Reuben?" Becca queried.

"Yes, it seems so, she looks like she was the youngest of three children. A small family for the time," Emily confirmed.

"That may be why she seemed to be doted on, but I'd like to find out more about how she died, must have been in tragic circumstances for her room to be left like that." Grams said sadly.

"Yes, her death is recorded as 1838 in the bible, but nothing to say why she died." Illya stated.

"I have her death certificate here," Gramps added, "but it just says accidental death."

"I could call UNCLE London, they might be able to find out some information, it is surprising what can be found out with the computers."

"No, Illya, I want to do this ourselves, it will make it more personal."

"I understand Becca, you are right."

"I think we should look through the newspaper archives in the library, they go back to that period in time."

"Your Mum is right we should go there," Grams confirmed.

It was Illya, Rebecca and Emily who made the trip to the library and searched through the local newspapers that were kept on microfiche.

The three of them took turns looking for information using the microfiche viewer.

"This sure makes your eyes ache, but I couldn't find anything," Becca sighed, rubbing her eyes to clear her vision.

"I think I have found something," Illya exclaimed,"Yes, I believe this is what we are looking for."

He read out the story to them.

"Terrible Accident at Brockenhurst Park. It is with sadness that we report Miss Sophie Eleanor Andrews was tragically killed in a riding accident on Thursday last. Her pony was startled and bolted while she was out riding around the estate with her Father, Amos Andrews. The pony tried to jump a gate, but fell and crushed it's young rider. The doctor was quickly called to the scene, but she died shortly after of her injuries. A private funeral will be held on Monday. The family have said a small memorial will be made in the Estate gardens. If anyone would like to leave a tribute they are welcome to leave it there."

"A riding accident, how sad." Emily sniffed as she wiped at her eyes."

"The report mentions some sort of memorial, I know the gardens like the back of my hand, but have never found anything like that. Illya, I want to find it."

"That would be a nice gesture, I would like to find it too."

With their minds made up, the trio returned and Illya and Becca made plans to search the estate the following morning.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Illya and Becca examined some old estate plans that had been found amongst the papers stored in Gramp's study. One large yellowed sheet covered most of the huge kitchen table. Various bottled condiments held down the edges and corners.

"I wonder where the memorial could be, I've never seen anything in our gardens that could be considered one," Rebecca sighed.

Gramps pointed to a faded line, "that seems to mark a boundary, but it's not our current one, that's right back here." He commented as he indicated the approximate end of the existing garden.

"I wonder why it was made smaller - and when," Emily, Becca's mother, wondered as she looked.

"Here's a newer map; look, the dates are about forty years apart." Grams added, bringing a less yellowed document to the table, "but the boundary is still the same."

"This one looks more up to date." Illya placed another almost white plan on the old one they had been studying. "This has the new boundary marked. The date is….1910"

"There's almost a hundred years between these two maps and Grams one is near the middle." Becca added.

"So sometime after the 1850's the boundary moved." Emily said thoughtfully before turning to her Father. "When did your Great Great Grandfather Amos die Gramps?"

"Ah, let me see." He opened the big family Bible to find the information. "Yes, it was the 15 September 1862."

"I think I have an idea about the change," Emily said, "what if the memorial was somewhere in this area when it was still part of the garden…."

"…. and after his death it became overgrown and the boundary eventually moved inwards." Gramps finished.

"Yes, that could be the answer," Illya agreed, "I think we should look here Becca."

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The two agents walked through the manicured gardens, amongst the rose beds and beautifully planted borders; their wide variety of brightly coloured flowers of all shapes and sizes attracting the butterflies who fed on their sweet nectar.

As they approached the Western end of the garden, they could see an old wooden post and rail fence; and beyond, part of the old meadow with it's ancient oak trees, their gnarled boughs spreading out in invitation to the agents to enjoy the cool shade they provided against the heat of the day.

"I've never really been over here, but when I have I don't remember seeing anything unusual," Becca commented.

"Maybe the memorial has broken or fallen over."

They explored the area, examining every good sized lump and bump they came across; just incase it was hiding what they were looking for under decades of soil and overgrowth.

Just as they were about to give up, they tried one last mound. Digging through the dirt with their hands, Illya's fingers scraped on something hard.

"Here, I think I have found something."

"Yes, I have too Illya."

After another 15 minutes of excited digging, a large flat stone was revealed. They heaved it out of the ground and found it was indeed a monument. With some effort they stood it up, it was about two foot square and three foot high. An inscription was carved into one surface and something was etched on the remaining three sides.

"I can't quite see what it says. I'll get some water to clean it up," Becca said.

"Okay, I think something like this would have had a plinth to stand on, I will see if I can find one while you are away."

Shortly, Becca returned with a bucket of water and a scrubbing brush, just as Illya was clearing soil from a three foot square piece of stone near the monument.

"I see you were right, there is a plinth a well."

"Yes, and it is in quite good condition, it should look fine once it has been cleaned and tidied up. Can you read the inscription yet?"

"Almost, just need to remove some dirt just here…. Yes, there we are. It says:

'In memorium to our darling Daughter Sophie Eleanor Andrews.  
Taken from our care so early, but now looked after by Angels.  
14 May 1831 - 21 August 1838.  
Rest In Peace Peanut'.

There are angels carved on the other three sides, it's beautiful."

"Yes, it is. Why does it say 'Peanut?"

"I think it was probably their pet name for her."

"Ah, I see, a bit like Russian diminutives."

"Yes, Illyusha!"

Rebecca and Illya placed the stone pillar on the plinth and stood back to admire their handiwork.

"I think we should make this part back into a garden, just so it's never lost again. She shouldn't be forgotten." Becca sighed, she rested her head against Illya's chest and he wrapped his arms around her.

Over the next few days and with the help of the estate gardeners, the area around the memorial was re-integrated into the garden. The flower borders were extended so they ran down to the memorial and a small rose bed was made on the opposite side. New turf had been laid so the reclaimed land matched in with the existing garden.

Becca placed some cut flowers in a vase in front of the memorial, the blues and pinks of the iris and freesias bright in front of the pale stone.

"Illya, if we are lucky enough to ever have children, and if it's a girl, I'd like to call her Sophie Eleanor."

"I like that idea, It will be a fitting tribute. Sophie Eleanor Kuryakin, I like it."

"I'm so glad you do." Becca replied, before exclaiming, "Illya… look do you see her?"

"Yes, I do," he whispered.

Skipping around by the memorial was a little girl dressed in a pretty blue summer dress, a ring of white daisies in her hair, she stopped and smiled at the two agents and waved as she faded from view.

"I think she approves." Illya said with a smile.


End file.
